Report: Flyers' Jeff Carter Could Play In Conference Finals

Philadelphia forward Jeff Carter, who recently had surgery on his right foot, has a legitimate chance of returning for the Flyers at some point during the Conference Final against Montreal. Cleared to skate, the center did just that this morning for about 15 minutes and is expected to be ready later on in the series.

While the Flyers have won five in a row and stand three wins away from the Stanley Cup Final, Carter hasn't played since Game 4 of the opening round versus New Jersey - not that they've complained.   

Flyers forward Simon Gagne will be in the lineup in Game 4 against the Boston Bruins, according to a report in CSNPhilly.com. He's been out the entire series with a broken toe and wasn't expected back this early, but with the Flyers' backs against the wall, he's rushed his return.

SBN's Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey, has more:

Peter Laviolette has not hinted at how much ice time Gagne will get in Game 4, but it appears he'll be on the normal top line with Mike Richards and Dan Carcillo. It also appears that he'll get some power play time, but Laviolette told the media that he likely won't use Gagne in penalty killing situations tonight.

How do you feel about this? Personally, I don't see any reason why Gagne shouldn't play. Even at 70 percent, he's better than four minutes of Jared Ross, and a broken toe isn't really an injury that you can hurt too much more. At worst, he slightly re-injures himself and he's ready to skate again by the end of June. It's not really a big deal. 

After all, to quote The Waterboy, "(this could be the) Last game of the year, Brent, can't hold anything back now."

The Flyers are desperate, and it's certainly showing. Forward Simon Gagne skated at Thursday's practice, a day before he was scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine his status. It was originally thought that the absolute best-case for Gagne's return would be Monday's potential Game 5.

But when that news came out, the Flyers weren't on the brink of a sweep. Given the circumstances, the Flyers are rushing him back. SBN's Broad Street Hockey isn't really that surprised.

Remember what we wrote the other day, about how you can't really hurt a broken toe too much more than it's already hurt? It seems that Simon Gagne and the Flyers medical staff feels the same way, because there he was this morning at practice, skating his little heart out.

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So, can Gagne play in Game 4? We don't know, but you have to imagine that the answer is yes. The Flyers are on the brink of elimination, and there's no reason to push up Gagne's timetable without the idea that he'll be in the lineup come a do-or-die Game 4. It's still a stretch, but with David Krejci officially out for the season in Boston and Gagne hopefully back in for the Flyers come Friday night, it might be the swing the team needs to at least get the series back north.

Simon Gagne and the Philadelphia Flyers will hope for good news on Friday when the winger goes for another MRI on his broken toe. If the results are positive, Gagne could begin skating that day and, according to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer, could return to the Philadelphia lineup as soon as next Monday's Game 5.

That's if a Game 5 is necessary, of course. The Boston Bruins are up 2-0 over the Flyers in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, but if the Flyers can win two games at home this week and even the series, SBN's Broad Street Hockey says that Gagne's return for Game 5 could be a giant boost.

Assuming the Flyers win all of their games on home ice, that would mean they still have to win one game in Boston. Having Simon Gagne in the lineup would go a long way towards fixing match up issues that Peter Laviolette and the Flyers have had while playing at TD Garden. A return this series is vital for Gagne and the team.

For more on Gagne and the Flyers, visit Broad Street Hockey.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne could be skating again by Friday, just one week after going under the knife to fix a broken toe. According to a report by Philadelphia Inquirer writer Sam Carchidi, Gagne is making a "rapid recovery."

The team also released a statement via their official blog, On The Fly. Here's writer Kevin Kurz:

Simon Gagne spoke with the media for the first time today since his surgery on Friday. Gagne is sporting a boot on his right foot, in which he suffered a fracture while blocking an Ilya Kolalchuk shot in Game 4 of the Flyers’ first round series victory over New Jersey.

He will be on crutches for two weeks, but isn’t counting himself out for an appearance in the second round.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I think the worst is behind. I need to be on crutches for two weeks and not put too much weight on it,” he explained. “From there, we’ll get an MRI two weeks from now and see where we’re at from the healing standpoint.

“I hope to be back at the end of the second round, and if not, then it will be the third round. I will be back as soon as I can.”

While Carchidi estimated that the "best-case" for Gagne is a return for Game 3 of the second round, Philadelphia Daily News reporter Frank Seravalli called that assessment a "frivolous overestimation."

I think Gagne coming back for Game 3 is a frivolous overestimation. That would be 10 days from surgery. He is Game 6-7 at best.

Who knows the truth, really? It does seem that two weeks on crutches would put Game 3 out of the question, but when you take into account the Flyers history with divulging details about injuries, it's hard to believe anything they say or don't say.

Bad news just got worse for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team announced late Wednesday that Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter will both undergo surgery on Friday in Philadelphia. Gagne will be out for three weeks while Carter will remain sidelined indefinitely.

The Flyers can wrap up their first round series with the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in Newark. If Gagne does return in three weeks, it would come close to the end of the second round of the playoffs, should Philadelphia advance.